Baseball 5/3/2023 1:08:00 PM Chris Brannick

UCO Begins MIAA Baseball Championship Friday At Pitt State

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Central Oklahoma begins the postseason Friday night with an MIAA Baseball Championship First Round series at Pittsburg State.

The Bronchos and the Gorillas will play a best-of-three series beginning with Game 1 Friday at 6 p.m. The advancing team heads to Warrensburg, Missouri for the four-team double elimination finals of the league's postseason tournament.

"We're glad to still be playing but we're eager and excited to prove that we can keep playing next weekend too," UCO head baseball coach John Martin said. "It's going to take all we have, but that's how it's supposed to be in the postseason. You have to be more focused and determined than ever."

Central Oklahoma posted a 31-17 record this season and the Bronchos went 18-15 in the MIAA to earn the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Pittsburg State has a 31-17 overall record as well but went 21-12 in league play to earn the No. 4 seed and the postseason home series this weekend.

The two schools played in Edmond earlier this season. Pitt State won the first game 16-12, UCO won Game 2 10-6, and the Pitt won the final meeting 9-5.

UCO heads to Pittsburg State averaging 8.1 runs per game. The Bronchos have a .311 team batting average and post 10.4 hits per game. Defensively, Central allows 5.4 runs per game on 8.1 hits per game, with opponents hitting just .250 against the Bronchos. UCO's pitching staff has a 4.69 earned run average through 48 games this season.

UCO has seven in the lineup with at least a .300 batting average. Jaden Parsons leads the team a .360 and has a team-high 64 hits in 44 games played this season. He's also one of five players with at least 10 doubles.

Noah Olson has a .345 batting average and leads the team with 12 home runs this season. He has 14 doubles and 47 RBIs, and his 47 runs scored are the most of any Broncho.

Seth Gray (.317) leads the team with 17 doubles this season and also has eight home runs and four triples. He has 56 hits on the year. Wyatt Gray (.350) also has 14 doubles. Aiden Proctor (.311) has a team-high 34 stolen bases this season, which leads the MIAA.

Kaleb Glass (.367) and Austin Lambert (.320) have also been key contributors on offense. Cameron Uselton (.299) has 14 doubles and eight homers this season, as well as 45 RBIs and 43 runs scored. Orlando Gonzalez (.280) is fourth on the team with 51 hits this season.

Central's pitching staff has a 4.69 ERA. The Bronchos are led by Diego Dominguez, who has a 4-1 record in 11 starts with a 4.58 ERA. He has 47 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched. Aiden Bagwell has a 5-2 record on the year with a 4.66 ERA and has 26 strikeouts in 36 innings.

A trio of relievers have led the way in strikeouts for the Bronchos this season. Valek Cisneros (1.71) has 28 Ks in 26 1/3 innings, Jacob Bailey (2.39) has a team-high 49 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings, and Jeb Jenkins (2.86) has 29 in 28 1/3.

Pittsburg State welcomes Central Oklahoma to southeastern Kansas this weekend averaging 8.7 runs on 10.7 hits per game through 48 games played this season. The Gorillas have a team batting average of .311 while their pitching staff has a 6.16 team ERA. Defensively, Pitt concedes 6.6 runs on 8.9 hits per game.

Zac Shoemaker is 8-2 on the mound for Pitt State with 94 strikeouts in 67 innings pitched. Ben Des Rosiers is 8-0 with 72 Ks in 64 2/3 innings. Both have started 13 games this season for Pittsburg. Nixon Brannan (.396) leads the offense with a team-high 72 hits. He has 19 doubles and 15 home runs. Cade Clemons has 57 hits with 12 doubles and a team-high 17 homers this season.

Game 1 is Friday night at 6 p.m. at Al Ortolani Field. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. and the Sunday if-necessary Game 3 is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The MIAA Baseball Championship begins Friday with the top four teams in the final league standings hosting a best-of-three series on campus this weekend. The four advancing teams will all meet in Warrensburg, Missouri for the double elimination finals.

Here's a look at the first round matchups:
(1) Central Missouri vs. (8) Rogers State
(2) Missouri Southern vs. (7) Newman
(3) Washburn vs. (6) Northeastern State
(4) Pittsburg State vs. (5) Central Oklahoma

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Players Mentioned

#1 Kaleb Glass: OF; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

#13 Seth Gray: IF; 6' 1"; Junior; R/R

#17 Wyatt Gray: C; 6' 1"; Junior; B/R

#12 Austin Lambert: IF; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

#7 Noah Olson: OF; 5' 10"; Junior; L/R

#0 Jaden Parsons: IF; 5' 10"; Junior; L/R

#23 Aiden Bagwell: P; 6' 1"; Junior; */R

#2 Aiden Proctor: IF; 5' 9"; Junior; L/R

#3 Cameron Uselton: OF; 5' 11"; Junior; R/R

#20 Diego Dominguez: P; 6' 1"; Junior; */R

Players Mentioned

#1 Kaleb Glass
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: OF

#13 Seth Gray
: 6' 1"; Junior; R/R
: IF

#17 Wyatt Gray
: 6' 1"; Junior; B/R
: C

#12 Austin Lambert
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: IF

#7 Noah Olson
: 5' 10"; Junior; L/R
: OF

#0 Jaden Parsons
: 5' 10"; Junior; L/R
: IF

#23 Aiden Bagwell
: 6' 1"; Junior; */R
: P

#2 Aiden Proctor
: 5' 9"; Junior; L/R
: IF

#3 Cameron Uselton
: 5' 11"; Junior; R/R
: OF

#20 Diego Dominguez
: 6' 1"; Junior; */R
: P